Recreating recipes from the past

Every household has its book of recipes handed down from generation to generation, be it a classic like the Australian Women’s Weekly Cookbook or a loose, handwritten collection of family favourites. 

Plenty of stews, soups, cakes and pies have remained popular for decades, even centuries. 

But when it comes to the big picture, both our tastes and our cooking techniques have changed dramatically since our distant ancestors first wielded the pots and pans over a fire. 

Some of our preconceptions about national cuisines don’t even stand the test of time. 

The ancient Roman diet, for example, was vastly different from what we now consider Italian food.  

Julius Caesar certainly wasn’t eating spaghetti Bolognese, lasagne and pizza – or anything that included tomatoes, which weren’t introduced to Europe from the Americas until 1,500 years after his death.

If you are wondering how the food our ancestors ate tasted, you’re not alone. 

Under the request of the University of Queensland’s Alumni Society, baker Hayley Lees recently tested a recipe for “hard dumplings” from The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy, a book written by Hannah Glasse in 1747. 

Lees’ verdict? “They looked great but, unfortunately, they came out tasting like Clag glue.” 

She also followed the recipe for snow cake from Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management, which was first published in 1861. 

This time, the result was different. Lees said the cake “turned out beautifully” even though finding the ingredients was a challenge. 

“Some of the recipes call for lard and things we could technically still buy but rarely use – but the arrowroot flour in the snow cake was interesting,” she told UQ Connect magazine.

“I took a trip to the health food aisle, which isn’t a frugal option these days, but who knew they were cooking gluten-free cake before ‘gluten-free’ was a thing!

“My final confession is that I have no idea how much a pound is and I had to Google it. Ah, the beauty of modern technology.” 

If you are interested in original cookbooks, then a visit – either in person or online – to the UQ Alumni Book Fair might be in order.  

More than 110,000 books, magazines, records and other items will be on sale, some for as little as $1.

The fair will be held at the UQ Centre on Union Road on the St Lucia campus in Brisbane from 28 April to 1 May 2023, with a Rare Book Auction, featuring the two cookbooks and many other collectibles in various genres, on 28 April from 6pm. You can lodge an absentee bid from anywhere in the world using this online form. 

All money raised will go towards student scholarships, research grants, and supporting UQ educators.

The recipes by Hannah Glasse and Mrs Beeton are here.